


You Might See A Frog

by sunflowersandsunshining



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Almost Kiss, Anxiety, Before the relationship, Cute, F/M, Fluffy, Heart Event, Mentions of Anxiety, Rain, Sweet, almost lovers, in-game mechanics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 02:28:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18437144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowersandsunshining/pseuds/sunflowersandsunshining
Summary: A certain farmer receives a note from her favorite programmer.





	You Might See A Frog

6:00 AM.

Pitter, patter. Her heart jumps, a small pang of joy hitting her body. It’s raining.

Rain in the Valley meant that her crops were watered; she could do whatever she wanted that day, her body brimming with fresh energy, spilling from her like her watering can on a rushed morning - electric, sparking, glowing.

Her mind immediately flickers to her not-quite-boyfriend Sebastian; they were closer than most people, that was true, but neither of them had built up the courage - or stupidity - to act on their impulses yet.

It was beautiful; a day where heavens roar with rain, but the sun blazes forth - she was the sun, at least to him, spreading her flames across the icy wasteland of his heart.

7:00 AM. She glazes over her mail. Another ad from Pierre - another weird letter from Mr. Qi - and a note, delicately placed on top of the others, dark paper pulled from a dark notepad. It’s only a few words, but her heart does loops in her chest, thumping against her skin as she reads it aloud:

"Hey - 

Come to the pier. Around 5 tonight.

\- Sebastian"

It was his handwriting. The way the “c” curled around itself, the messy quality, and the fact that the paper had SEBCO printed across the top - it was unmistakably his. 

The minutes flowed through her fingers like sand, crumbling into the wind as she read and reread the note. One beat. Two. Three. It wasn’t like her to waste time like this. But something about the note gripped her, took her hand and pulled her along, like she so desperately wished he would with his own hands. She didn’t even mind the rain drenching her, her hands shakily covering the note in an effort to preserve the sensitive ink from the sky above. 

8:00 AM. She stared at her watch, blinking - it felt like time was standing still, but yet, it marched on, like it always did. With a shake of her head, she shoved the note into her pocket, plucked her umbrella from her door, and made her way to the barn, busying herself with her everyday work. Yet the thought of him hung over her like a fog, interrupting her thoughts and invading her senses.

It was almost like he was there. Standing next to her, watching her shear the sheep, milk the cows - his sandalwood cologne in her nose, masking the smell of the animals, keeping her sane during the mundane work.

But he wasn’t there. He hadn’t ever stepped foot in her barns, or her fields, or even her home: the closest he came was - possibly - when he had delivered that note to her front lot. 

10:00 AM. She sees a frog. It reminds her of him. She wonders if he’d find that insulting.

11:00 AM. It’s still raining. She palms a frozen stone in her hand, feeling its icy reach crawl up and down her body. It sends chills down her spine - but even still, she diligently got these rocks for him, these horrid, frozen bastards from the depths of that mine - because she knew he loved them.

He even had a little case in his room, full of those things, all from her: big ones, small ones, wide ones, broken ones. He never told her about it.

She had found it one night when she had stayed over. It wasn’t a common occurrence, since she had a whole farm to tend to - but on rainy days, sometimes, she’d allow herself the reprieve of hanging out at his house all day. Well, his basement. Or… his mom’s basement. Whatever, she thought, puffing her cheeks out. He deserved more than a basement.

She remembered running her hands across the top shelf, the one she couldn’t reach normally: she was searching for something, she forgot what, when the little blue case fell into her hands. Every single one of those stones was in there. Even the one that had a deep crack running through it.

The warmth that she had felt then far outshined the frozen grip of those gems.

1:00 PM. She’s getting antsy, now. 

2:00 PM. Another happy memory comes to mind - the time they had played _Solarion Chronicles: The Game_ together. Her hands work automatically, busying themselves with forging and seed-making as she escapes into her mind.

She picked healer.

He scoffed at her choice: a playful smile tugged at his lips, his words laced with honey as he scolded her: “Be careful.”

She tsked. “Always.”

She remembered the look on his face as he tallied their score for the scenario - a perfect C! Her face broke into a goofy grin while Sebastian laughed.

“I told you to be careful,” he said, fake anger in his voice.

“I was!”

3:00 PM. The clouds are rolling lazily across the sky, traced with dark outlines as she pressed her fingers together, fiddling with them anxiously. 

It wasn’t like her to be nervous. But something about him made her heart pitter patter in tune with the rain, soaking her body with worry as she tried to find something else to concentrate on - she settled for the menial task of fishing.

4:30 PM. The rod feels like lead in her hands. She thrusts it into her pack, hastily grabbing her haul of fish and booking it to the pier as fast as her short legs will take her.

5:00 PM.

She’s already there. Ten minutes early. Her fingers are pulling and tearing at her hair, drenched from the rain, tangled and ruffled from the work she’s been at all day. 

The sound of wood creaking, feet bumbling over to her - she turned, clump of hair in her hand, to find Sebastian, umbrella in his hand.

“Hey, hey,” he whispered, dropping his things and coming in closer, their bodies almost touching. “Don’t do that.”

“Huh?” 

He ran a gentle hand through her hair, pushing her hand away from the roots of her scalp. “That.”

They were quiet for a long time.

He eventually spoke: “Don’t you want the umbrella?”

“Y-yeah,” she managed. 

He broke their almost-contact, plucking the umbrella up from the ground and putting it up above them. His fingers grazed against hers, and he soon began to speak again: “What’s gotten into you?” 

“I was nervous.” She kicked the decaying material beneath her, tears gleaming at the corners of her eyes - luckily masked by the downpour of rain. “I thought you might not come.”

“Why would I invite you and not show up?” A chuckle rose from his chest, warm and dry. “I wanted to show you something.”

“What is it?”

“You might see a frog in this weather,” he said slowly. “Look.” 

He used his free hand to point across the pier, and sure enough, a colony of green-footed creatures were sitting together, chirping in a symphony of croaks.

“Oh!” She giggled, anxiety soon washing away from her body, relief filling the gap it left. “Oh, I love them.”

“Me too.” Sebastian smiled, looking back to her. “Hey… I’m sorry I made you nervous.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay,” she reassured him quietly. “Not your fault.”

“Wanna get some coffee or something?” 

“Not great for anxiety, but, with you, okay.” She pecked his cheek. “Thank you.”

Cheeks pink, he cracked a smile and gently cleared his throat. His fingers laced through hers, tentative and gentle, and he guided her to the saloon.


End file.
